Turning off compatibility check

846 views
Skip to first unread message

Chris Lott

unread,
Nov 15, 2012, 12:46:32 PM11/15/12
to pentadactyl
Pentadactyl XPI is not yet compatible with Firefox 17 (no surprise
since Firefox seems to update every other day). Is there some way to
tell Firefox to just install it anyway? I've had no luck with various
methods found scouring Google results.

c
--
Chris Lott <ch...@chrislott.org>

lessthanideal

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 12:41:34 PM11/21/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
I couldn't quite get the below procedure working on Windows because Firefox claimed the file was corrupt after zipping it back up (tried with WinZip and 7Zip).  This may be just a matter of fiddling with default options in the zip software.

Anyway, I got it to work by renaming the file to .zip, then I could use WinZip to open the archive (instead of unzipping it), view the install.rdf file and make the change.  When the file is saved WinZip offers to update the file in the archive.  Finally rename back from .zip to .xpi.

regards,
Geoff


On Wednesday, 21 November 2012 03:22:03 UTC, blair...@gmail.com wrote:
Just for reference:
  1. Download the nightly from the Pentadactyl web-site
  2. Change into the directory containing the installer: cd ~/Downloads (or wherever you put the file)
  3. Create a directory to hold the files in the archive: mkdir pentadactyl
  4. Change into the directory: cd pentadactyl
  5. Extract the files from the archive: unzip ../pentadactyl-20121121.xpi
  6. Edit install.rdf (as suggested by Chris Lott): vim install.rdf
  7. Modify the line that reads: "em:maxVersion="16.*"/>" to read: "em:maxVersion="17.*"/>"
  8. Save the file
  9. Recreate the installer: zip ../pentadactyl.xpi *
  10. Open Firefox
  11. Install the XPI: file -> open -> select the newly created file
Note: this may not work on all builds and/or upgrades. The version check is there for a reason, after all. It did, however, work for version 17 using the nightly from 20121121.

Good luck.

On Tuesday, 20 November 2012 15:17:06 UTC-8, akam...@gmail.com wrote:
Using the latest nightly build, changing maxVersion in install.rdf works for me.

Aaron Reichow

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 2:10:24 PM11/21/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
Is everything working on FF17 w/ pentadactyl? I was anticipating that it wouldn't work because of E4X was getting pulled out of FF17... I'll have to give it a try.

Mario Grgic

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 2:14:48 PM11/21/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
Yes, things are still working. Fortunately FF 17 did not remove E4X yet, but will in FF18. 

--
 
 
 

gokfar

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 3:52:10 PM11/21/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
After getting the same error on OS X 10.7, I got it to work in a similar way. I used the paid software BetterZip but hopefully this can be done using freeware.
The trick for me was to tick the checkbox "Remove mac specific stuff from archive" when saving, after opening the archive in BetterZip and editing install.rdf.

Mario Grgic

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 4:38:21 PM11/21/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
You don't need any paid software. UNIX version of zip handles everything just fine. Also you can edit the XPI directly in VIM. 

--
 
 
 

gnomeye

unread,
Nov 22, 2012, 6:34:25 AM11/22/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
It is set to maxVersion 17.* in the latest nightly build.
Message has been deleted

Emile Mercier

unread,
Nov 22, 2012, 3:56:02 PM11/22/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
Here is a bat file I made and tested on windows 7 that downloads the latest xpi and does the modify.
After running it it the kludge clunks around a bit and then outputs the modified xpi in the same dir that you launched the bat from.

modxpi.bat:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
::e m i l e @ g u n t a r i . c o m
::@echo off
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: USER DEFINED VARIABLES
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::/*{*/

  :: SET WHAT SNAPSHOT TO WORK WITH
  :: DEFAULT IS Latest Pentadactyl Nightly
    set BUILD=pentadactyl-latest

  :: SET WHAT MAJOR VERSION YOU WANT TO CHANGE TO IN install.rdf
    set MAJOR_VERSION=18

::/*}*/



:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::        INIT
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::/*{*/

  %SystemDrive%:
  SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
  pushd "%~dp0"
    for /F "delims=" %%I in ('cd') do set root=%%~fI
  popd
:: Does the user have a TEMP directory? if not use current dir
:: assume for now that TEMP is writable
  IF NOT EXIST "%TEMP%" set TEMP=%root%

::/*}*/

:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::     ENVIRONMENT
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::/*{*/
  mkdir %TEMP%\pentadactyl
  @set PATH=%TEMP%\pentadactyl;%PATH%
  pushd %TEMP%\pentadactyl

  :: Download busybox
      set FILE_TO_WAIT_FOR=busybox.exe
      call :SpawnVBS
      ::SLEEP 3
        ping -n 3 localhost>/NUL
      ::EXECUTE VBS
      %TEMP%\pentadactyl\dl.vbs
      ::WAIT FOR DOWNLOAD TO FINISH
      call :WEND

        :: Download latest pentadactyl with wget
          mkdir _%BUILD%
            busybox wget http://5digits.org/nightly/%BUILD%.xpi 
          ::Tell WEND what to wait for
            set FILE_TO_WAIT_FOR=xpi
          ::WAIT FOR DOWNLOAD TO FINISH
            call :WEND
          ::UNPACK XPI
            busybox unzip %BUILD%.xpi -d _%BUILD%

        :: Download zip.exe
            busybox wget http://stahlforce.com/dev/zip.exe
          ::Tell WEND what to wait for
            set FILE_TO_WAIT_FOR=zip.exe
          ::WAIT FOR DOWNLOAD TO FINISH
            call :WEND
::/*}*/

:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::        MAIN
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::/*{*/

  busybox sed s/\(em:maxVersion=.\)[0-9]*/\1%MAJOR_VERSION%/ _%BUILD%\install.rdf > install.rdf
  move /Y install.rdf _%BUILD%
  pushd _%BUILD%
   zip.exe -r ..\%BUILD%_mod.xpi *
  popd
popd

  ::move the modified xpi into current dir
    move %TEMP%\pentadactyl\%BUILD%_mod.xpi .

  :: Clean up
    rmdir /s /q %TEMP%\pentadactyl

::/*}*/

::EXIT MAIN RETURN 0
EXIT /B 0

:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::      FUNCTIONS
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::/*{*/

  :SpawnVBS
  ::/*{*/
      echo function download(sFileURL, sLocation)>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'create xmlhttp object>>dl.vbs
      echo Set objXMLHTTP = CreateObject("MSXML2.XMLHTTP")>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'get the remote file>>dl.vbs
      echo objXMLHTTP.open "GET", sFileURL, false>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'send the request>>dl.vbs
      echo objXMLHTTP.send()>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'wait until the data has downloaded successfully>>dl.vbs
      echo do until objXMLHTTP.Status = 200 :  wscript.sleep(1000) :  loop>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'if the data has downloaded sucessfully>>dl.vbs
      echo If objXMLHTTP.Status = 200 Then>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo     'create binary stream object>>dl.vbs
      echo Set objADOStream = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream")>>dl.vbs
      echo objADOStream.Open>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'adTypeBinary>>dl.vbs
      echo objADOStream.Type = 1 >>dl.vbs
      echo objADOStream.Write objXMLHTTP.ResponseBody>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'Set the stream position to the start>>dl.vbs
      echo objADOStream.Position = 0    >>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'create file system object to allow the script to check for an existing file>>dl.vbs
      echo        Set objFSO = Createobject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'check if the file exists, if it exists then delete it>>dl.vbs
      echo If objFSO.Fileexists(sLocation) Then objFSO.DeleteFile sLocation>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'destroy file system object>>dl.vbs
      echo Set objFSO = Nothing>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'save the ado stream to a file>>dl.vbs
      echo objADOStream.SaveToFile sLocation>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo        'close the ado stream>>dl.vbs
      echo objADOStream.Close>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'destroy the ado stream object>>dl.vbs
      echo Set objADOStream = Nothing>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'end object downloaded successfully>>dl.vbs
      echo End if>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo 'destroy xml http object>>dl.vbs
      echo Set objXMLHTTP = Nothing>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo End function>>dl.vbs
      echo.>>dl.vbs
      echo download "%DOWNLOAD_URL%", ".\%FILE_TO_WAIT_FOR%">>dl.vbs
  EXIT /B 0
  ::/*}*/


  :WEND
  ::/*{*/
       echo waiting for %FILE_TO_WAIT_FOR% to download...
        ping -n 3 localhost>/NUL
      dir /B | findstr /r "%FILE_TO_WAIT_FOR%"
      if %ERRORLEVEL%==1 goto WEND
  EXIT /B 0
  ::/*}*/


::/*}*/


geoffr...@thomsonreuters.com

unread,
Nov 29, 2012, 11:03:26 AM11/29/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com

@Blair, thanks for the warning - I haven’t had any problems so far... I only do basic things though like opening webpages, finding text, using bookmarks, and a few simple mappings to save time typing commands.  If it starts to be unreliable I’ll know what to try first.

 

@Emile, I don’t upgrade it very frequently (in case it breaks the parts I do use!) but I’ll be trying your batch file the next time I do.  I was interested to learn about busybox.exe, I expect I’ll be using that in my own batch files.

 

regards,

Geoff

 

From: penta...@googlegroups.com [mailto:penta...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of blair...@gmail.com
Sent: 21 November 2012 17:59
To: penta...@googlegroups.com
Cc: akam...@gmail.com; blair...@gmail.com
Subject: [pentadactyl] Re: Turning off compatibility check

 

Geoff,

I'm using Mac OS and had no problem with the built-in zip utility. I'm unsure what the difference is between it and the compression techniques used in WinZip or 7Zip.

However, I wouldn't suggest this technique (at least not with the current nightly and version 17) as there are quite a few features that I've discovered to be broken.

I'm currently in the process of downgrading to Firefox to 16 until this issue gets sorted out.

Later,
Blair.

--
 
 
 

Chris Lott

unread,
Nov 30, 2012, 12:32:18 AM11/30/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com
Doesn't seem to work on Firefox 18. Is Mozilla going to update to a new version every day now?

Sheesh.

c


On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 2:17:06 PM UTC-9, Andrew Wong wrote:
Using the latest nightly build, changing maxVersion in install.rdf works for me.

On Friday, November 16, 2012 4:47:13 AM UTC+11, Chris Lott wrote:

David Alan Gilbert

unread,
Dec 2, 2012, 7:11:36 PM12/2/12
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com, veritas...@gmail.com

On Wednesday, 21 November 2012 19:14:50 UTC, Mario Grgic wrote:
Yes, things are still working. Fortunately FF 17 did not remove E4X yet, but will in FF18. 


Yep, dead in the water on FF18 on Ubuntu Raring; updating the version lets you install it but it doesn't do anything.

Dave

meganox

unread,
Jan 14, 2013, 9:45:23 AM1/14/13
to penta...@googlegroups.com


On Friday, 30 November 2012 05:32:18 UTC, Chris Lott wrote:
Doesn't seem to work on Firefox 18. Is Mozilla going to update to a new version every day now?

Sheesh.

c


Are you not familiar with Firefox's Rapid Release schedule?  http://mozilla.github.com/process-releases/draft/development_overview/

In short, it means that Mozilla will be releasing new versions faster than developers of large extensions like Pentadactyl can update them.


meganox

unread,
Jan 14, 2013, 10:00:19 AM1/14/13
to penta...@googlegroups.com


On Monday, 14 January 2013 14:45:23 UTC, meganox wrote:


In short, it means that Mozilla will be releasing new versions faster than developers of large extensions like Pentadactyl can update them.



I hope nobody takes this to mean I don't think the Pentadactyl devs are working hard enough!  Thanks for all the awesome work you do, I don't know how I could use the web without Pentadactyl!

Emile Mercier

unread,
Feb 2, 2013, 10:11:50 PM2/2/13
to penta...@googlegroups.com, akam...@gmail.com, blair...@gmail.com
I changed one line of this batch file to make it work with the latest changes. Just tested it and it still works pretty well.
Change the line with "set MAJOR_VERSION=18" to read "set MAJOR_VERSION=19"


On Thursday, November 22, 2012 3:56:02 PM UTC-5, Emile Mercier wrote:
Here is a bat file I made and tested on windows 7 that downloads the latest xpi and does the modify.
After running it it the kludge clunks around a bit and then outputs the modified xpi in the same dir that you launched the bat from.

modxpi.bat:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
::e m i l e @ g u n t a r i . c o m
::@echo off
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: USER DEFINED VARIABLES
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
::/*{*/

  :: SET WHAT SNAPSHOT TO WORK WITH
  :: DEFAULT IS Latest Pentadactyl Nightly
    set BUILD=pentadactyl-latest

  :: SET WHAT MAJOR VERSION YOU WANT TO CHANGE TO IN install.rdf
    set MAJOR_VERSION=19
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages